MEPs have accused Albania of using “sneaky” tactics to fast-track a proposed luxury resort linked to Trump, amid protests that have grown increasingly violent. As Prime Minister Edi Rama promised to “listen to the voices of young people” taking to the streets, criticism mounted over his failure to address demonstrators who had long opposed the controversial project peacefully. In scenes not seen in decades, students now leading the unrest have fought pitched battles with riot police in Tirana, while ministerial buildings, banks and businesses have been set on fire, attacked and looted. Speaking to the Guardian, Dutch MEP Tineke Strik accused Rama of inflaming the situation by stubbornly pursuing plans backed by the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. “If the Albanian government had taken the ‘Flamingo Revolution’ seriously, we wouldn’t be here,” she said of the popular movement launched in response to the resort being built in ecologically sensitive areas of the Balkan state. “The students are voicing the frustration of people who feel they haven’t been listened to.” Why are people protesting across Europe? Read more On Monday, municipal workers could be seen removing paving stones as shopkeepers secured their premises with metal sheeting, following a sixth consecutive day of violent clashes in the capital in which protesters also set fire to a police station. Riot police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas as they tried to disperse the crowds. Students have vowed to keep demonstrating until the socialist leader resigns – a demand he has firmly refused to meet. “This terrible resort idea was the match that lit this fire,” sighed Greta, a student in Tirana, adding that the slogan chanted by young people at demonstrations for months had been “Albania is not for sale”. “Now there are other issues fueling the flames. We really care about the state of our democracy, about living standards, about education.” View image in fullscreen A luxury resort is planned at the Vjosa-Narta protected wetland landscape in Zvërnec by a company linked to Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Photograph: Florion Goga/Reuters The controversial project envisions building up to 10,000 villas in coastal areas that were environmentally protected until the government passed a contentious law allowing “strategic investors” to build in parts of the Vjosa-Narta landscape surrounding the last intact delta system in the Mediterranean. In June, the European Parliament called on the EU candidate country to repeal the legislation, saying it posed a direct threat to environmental standards that are “non-negotiable conditions of accession”. The parliament’s move came after construction workers broke ground in May, sparking protests that spread nationwide after it was discovered that ancient dunes and forest had been destroyed to create access roads in the nature reserve. Re-elected for a historic fourth term last year, Rama is on a mission to get the Balkan state – still one of Europe’s poorest after the collapse of communism more than three decades ago – into the 27-member bloc by 2030. In a live address on social media on Sunday, he said: “Albanians need to think very clearly: do they want this, do they want that, or do they want the EU?” But Strik, a Greens group MEP who led a European Parliament fact-finding mission to Albania in June, said it was clear the government was also rushing to “create facts on the ground” before it was bound by EU standards. A frontrunner in the enlargement process, Albania hopes to wrap up accession talks by the end of 2027. Citing an environmental impact study whose “scientific results” Rama recently described as key to the €4bn project going ahead, she said: “The government has submitted an environmental package to the [EU] Commission but without repealing the law allowing for construction in the protected area … it is still trying to help realise theThe megalomaniacal luxury resort plans of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. How? By conducting a fast-track impact assessment which, if done more comprehensively, could never conclude that this construction is allowed.” Rama told a tourism forum in Brussels this month that the milestone development would be a gamechanger for a nation that had been the “North Korea” of Europe before the fall of its Stalinist regime in the 1990s. “If construction goes ahead, this will be decided not in the streets but by science,” he told the forum. “The idea that nature will take care of itself if we simply look at it is preposterous and old. We are trying to come out with a high-end destination where nature will be highlighted and where people will holiday, and where the Albanian people will get back what they deserve: a much stronger economy.” On 8 October, Kushner described the venture as having a single goal: “To build to the highest design and environmental standards and leave this extraordinary part of Albania greener, more biodiverse and environmentally stronger.” Albania’s prime minister vows not to resign over student-led protests. Private contractors tasked with carrying out the impact study have been seen mapping, measuring and monitoring the area, prompting environmentalists, who had initially led the protests, to counter this week that “science had already spoken.” “It spoke when experts from the faculty of science at Tirana University chose to protect this incredible landscape in 2004,” said Aleksander Trajce of the country’s oldest conservation group, the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA). “Their decision was based on very sound scientific data. There’s no way that science can tell us more. Reopening the discussion is not only disingenuous but clearly a way to justify construction that should not be happening at all.” Insisting an environmental impact assessment would take “at least two years” to be properly conducted, he added: “You’d need several seasons, across several years, to really examine the species and biodiversity of the region.” With the violence showing no sign of abating, Albanians feel very angry at the EU’s lacklustre stance, said Trajce. “If it had intervened earlier and told Rama to stop, the peaceful phase of the protest movement would not have escalated into what it is today.” Saying she had been surprised by the Albanian prime minister’s enthusiasm for such a large-scale tourism complex in an area so fragile, Strik emphasised the importance of protecting such unique shorelines on a continent that had learned from past mistakes. “I accuse Rama of serving his own interests and the interests of Kushner and not the interests of the environment and the Albanian people,” she said. “The government clearly intends to finalise the procedures before it is legally bound by EU standards. Such sneaky and disloyal practices should be strongly criticised by the EU. If Albania seriously wants to be a reliable candidate member state, it should respect EU law and not try to circumvent it.” Asked about Strik’s claims, Rama told the Guardian: “Please tell the honourable lady that the violence in Tirana is very real. Instead of imagining environmental plots that do not exist, she could help Albania by condemning the violence she appears to appreciate, in an unfortunate echo of the Kremlin’s own lady, Madam Zakharova [Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova].”
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs Albania Accused of FastTracking a TrumpLinked Resort on Formerly Protected Land
1 What is this story about
Albania is accused of speeding up approval for a luxury resort project backed by Jared Kushners company on a coastal area that used to be a protected nature reserve
2 Who is behind the resort project
The project is linked to Affinity Partners an investment firm run by Jared Kushner Donald Trumps soninlaw
3 Where is the resort being built
On the Vjosa River delta near the Adriatic coast in southern Albania an area known for its wetlands and wildlife
4 Why is the land called formerly protected
The Albanian government removed the areas protected status in 2025 which opened the door for development Before that it was a protected landscape
5 What does fasttracking mean here
It means the project is moving through approvals much faster than usual critics say too fast with limited review or public consultation
6 Who is accusing Albania
Environmental groups opposition politicians and some EU officials and media outlets have raised concerns
7 Why are environmentalists upset
The area is a key stopover for migratory birds and home to rare species They worry the resort will damage the ecosystem and set a bad precedent
8 What does the Albanian government say
Officials say the project follows the law will bring investment and jobs and that the protected status was changed through a proper legal process
9 Is this connected to Trumps presidency
Theres no proven link but critics question whether Kushners political connections influenced the speedy treatment The companies deny any wrongdoing
10 What is Affinity Partners response
The firm says it is committed to sustainable development and follows all local laws and regulations
11 What is a protected area in simple terms
Its land or water set aside by law to conserve nature limiting construction and development to keep the ecosystem safe
12 Can protected status be legally removed
Yes governments can change protections through laws or decrees but environmental groups argue this should require strong justification and public input
13 What are the potential benefits of the resort
Supporters point to foreign investment tourism revenue and local jobs
